New AI model reads Ancient Egyptian; Refiant debuts models with huge context windows
Weekly News Digest...
Good morning!
Welcome to this week’s Africa AI News email digest!
Lots of Africa AI news to share this week. In this edition, Nigeria tops the continent in the Global Index on Responsible AI; six Francophone West African nations adopt a shared AI governance framework; South Africa sees major investments in AI infrastructure and innovation as Telkom launches a R100 million AI institute; and Kenya showcases its AI and robotics education ambitions at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva.
Meanwhile, South African-startup Refiant unveils a 10 million-token language model; and Egypt’s TokenAI introduces pioneering AI models that can natively read and translate Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Scroll down for more news.
Thanks for reading!
/Carrington
AI Models
Horus Hiero reads Ancient hieroglyphics
#Egypt #hieroglyphics – Alexandria-based TokenAI has launched Horus Hiero 9B and Horus Hiero Mini 4B, multimodal AI models that natively read, translate and reason across Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and more than 100 languages. The open-weight models could transform museum experiences, Egyptology research and cultural heritage applications. (Middle East AI News)
Refiant launches AI model with 10M context window
#SouthAfrica #LLMs – South Africa-founded Refiant AI has launched Protea, a family of AI models with context windows of up to 10 million tokens, enabling analysis of massive datasets in a single prompt. The startup says an internal prototype has already demonstrated a 100 million-token context window. (TechCabal)
AI Readiness
Only 8% of Tunisian firms AI-ready
#Tunisia #readiness – Just 7.8 per cent of Tunisian companies are fully prepared to realise the benefits of AI, according to a study by ITCEQ. Surveying 1,208 firms, the report identifies funding constraints and digital skills shortages as the biggest barriers to wider AI adoption and innovation. (Africa AI News)
Education
Telkom commits R100m to AI institute
#SouthAfrica #training – Telkom has pledged R100 million to establish the Telkom AI Institute, providing practical AI and digital skills training for young people, small businesses and underserved communities. Announced at the ITU’s Partner2Connect initiative in Geneva, the programme supports South Africa’s Vision 2030 digital ambitions. (MyBroadband)
Morocco signs AI partnership for digital skills
#Morocco #skills – Morocco has signed a public-private partnership with ALTEN Group and three government ministries to accelerate AI skills, digital innovation and industrial transformation under its Morocco Digital 2030 strategy. The initiative expands AI research, specialised training, technology platforms and advanced engineering capabilities. (Morocco World News)
Kenya showcases AI education at Geneva summit
#Kenya #education – Kenya highlighted its AI and robotics education initiatives at the AI for Good Global Summit in Geneva, showcasing efforts to prepare young people for the digital economy. The country has connected 788 public schools to broadband, with a target of 1,000 by December and nationwide connectivity by 2030. (Tech Review Africa)
Governance
Six West African nations adopt AI guidelines
#Africa #governance – Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Senegal have adopted a shared AI governance framework promoting ethical, transparent and inclusive artificial intelligence. Led by Niyel, the guidelines support data protection, digital sovereignty and local innovation while complementing national AI strategies. (We Are Tech Africa)
Nigeria leads Africa in AI governance index
#Nigeria #governance – Nigeria has ranked first in Africa and 38th globally in the Global Index on Responsible AI, rising from 80th place in 2024. The country was also recognised as a global “Bright Spot” for advancing AI literacy and strengthening digital protections for children. (The Guardian Nigeria)
Smart Cities
China backs Namibia smart city with $14.4 million
#Namibia #smartcities – China has committed ¥98 million ($14.4m) to Namibia’s Smart City pilot project, supporting digital infrastructure, AI capabilities and skills development. Announced during President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah’s visit to Huawei in Shenzhen, the funding advances the country’s 10-year smart city and digital transformation strategy. (ITWeb Africa)
Banking
Attijariwafa Bank selects staff AI projects
#Morocco #banking – Attijariwafa Bank has selected five employee-developed AI projects to improve customer service, fraud detection, risk management and operational efficiency. Chosen from an internal innovation programme, the projects will now be reviewed for deployment across the bank, which serves more than 12 million customers in 27 countries. (ITWeb Africa)
Healthcare
Trusted data key to scaling AI in healthcare
#SouthAfrica #healthcare – South African healthcare organisations must prioritise trusted, connected and governed data before scaling AI, according to InterSystems South Africa. The company says interoperability, data quality and secure information sharing are essential foundations for deploying AI safely across clinical and operational workflows. (Intelligent CIO)
Competitions
Zimbabwe launches AI for Impact Challenge 2026
#Zimbabwe #competition – Zimbabwe’s POTRAZ has launched the 2026 AI for Impact Challenge to accelerate practical AI solutions under the National AI Strategy 2026–2030. Successful teams progressing beyond the competition into incubation may access up to $80,000 in grant funding to develop high-impact AI innovations. (Submit proposals) (Terms of Reference - Google Drive)
[ This newsletter was both AI edited & human edited ]